Team USA

If you knew Heidi Henriksen when she was younger, this is about the last thing you’d have imagined her doing. But 10 years ago, the shy and quiet artist did something that would change her life. She sat down and watched a movie.

Kevin Love still doesn’t know where he will play next season, his NBA future hanging in the air while a seldom-used league rule complicates a potential trade to Cleveland. The only thing certain from a basketball standpoint for Love is that he won’t be playing for Team USA this summer.

Belgium defeated the U.S. 2-1 in full time and deflated the American hype and furor around our new favorite sport-of-the-moment. Although we won’t see the USMNT contend for the title, good times and camaraderie were had by all.

The U.S. won, despite losing Thursday in the World Cup. Thomas Mueller scored the only goal as Germany beat Team USA 1-0 in Brazil. But the U.S. team still had a good enough record to advance to the next round. The USA will play on, and the Twin Cities will party on.

With the U.S. and Portugal set to square off on Sunday at 6pm ET, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Group G has been called the group of death by many because and it’s starting to live up to it’s nickname.

An Olympic gold medal earned by a player on the “Miracle on Ice” 1980 U.S. Olympic team has been auctioned for nearly $263,000. It belonged to Mark Pavelich, who had the assist on Mike Eruzione’s game-winning goal for Team USA against the Soviet Union.

Some of the puppies rescued at the Sochi Olympics are starting to come to the states. One member of the USA Men’s Hockey Team, and his wife, brought home a couple of the strays. And, they have Minnesota ties.

Jamie Benn scored in the second period, Carey Price made 31 saves, and Canada beat the United States 1-0 Friday night in the semifinals of the Olympic men’s hockey tournament. Canada advanced to the gold-medal match Sunday against Sweden, which beat Finland 2-1 in the earlier semifinal at Bolshoy Ice Dome.

Saturday’s Olympic hockey match-up between Team USA and Russia had many thinking back 34 years ago to the “Miracle on Ice” game at Lake Placid. So it was only fitting that a viewing party was held at the Herb Brooks Training Center at the Schwan’s Super Rink in Blaine, with dozens of hockey fans in attendance. “You get to see the best players,” said fan Brian Maloney. “It’s fun to watch them play the Russians with all the history and stuff.”

USA’s Olympic hockey team beat Russia 3-2 in a stunning shootout Saturday. The arena in Sochi was packed to overflowing with fans of both nations, jovially posing for photos and comparing their colorful sweaters. The Russians waved hundreds of flags, blew horns and banged drums from the first moments of warm-ups. Hockey legend and former Golden Gopher Lou Nanne was team captain during the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France. He says Saturday’s game was quite a spectacle.

As T.J. Oshie led the U.S. men’s Olympic team to a dramatic 3-2 shootout win over Russia on Saturday, people in his tiny northern Minnesota hometown were screaming in joy at their televisions, daring to hope that the 27-year-old would be the latest from Warroad to bring home Olympic gold.

Women’s hockey gets started this weekend at the Sochi Olympics and the U.S. team has a strong Minnesota flavor. But beyond that, they’re excited for the chance to win America’s first gold since the very first gold.

As athletes from around the world prepare to attend the Olympics in Sochi next month, concerns about security continue to mount. One member of the Senate Intelligence Committee says he wouldn’t go, and he wouldn’t have his family go.

The U.S. men’s hockey team for the Winter Olympics has been announced, and close to half of the players all share Minnesota connections. Among those headed to Sochi in Russia will be the Minnesota Wild’s Zach Parise and Ryan Suter.

Five members or former members of the University of Minnesota women’s hockey team will be heading to Sochi in Russia for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Among those who were named to the team was forward Amanda Kessel, who was named NCAA player of the year.

Former University of Minnesota hockey star Lou Nanne, now a prominent Gophers booster, has been picked to lead the school’s fundraising campaign for enhanced athletic facilities. The university announced the news on Monday. With a separate practice building for the men’s and women’s basketball teams at the top of the list, the Gophers are pursuing $190 million in private money to upgrade their sports programs. Football practice facility renovation is also a high priority. Nanne will lead a new volunteer leadership council that will assist the athletic department in meeting the needs of the athletes, coaches and programs.

Running groups aren’t anything new, but now there’s one taking off in the Twin Cities that gives you a chance to train with Team USA runners as your coach – and it’s all free. Antonio Vega and Andrew Carlson met in college while competing against each other in track and cross country — they both run for TEAM USA Minnesota — but they now work together as coaches.